#but i get extremely protective of pika k'ay

[icharchivist]

Anyway  I’ve been thinking about that new chain a lot and since I’m seeing people being negative about it I feel like i should write out my thoughts.

It’s seriously not as bad as it sounds somehow.

I was really wary when I read the spoilers that Kurapika had “a stealing chain”, I guess for about the same reasons as everyone. It’s a little op, too close to Chrollo.

But I’ve been thinking about it for a while now at least.

-First considering the Dolphin calls him out over the use of Emperor’s time, he still needs to have his red eyes activated to do that, and it is therefore pushing his limits. When he used too much his Nen in Specialist Mode, he was always exhausted. The only fact that he was warned right away makes me think this technique is probably heavier than the others ones when it comes to using it.

-Unlike Chrollo, it’s one stealing ability at a time. Besides, once it’s used one,it goes back to the person it belongs. And then there’s the attitude around it, unless maybe when Chrollo used Korutopi’s technique in his fight against Hisoka (and I’m still convinced he didn’t take Shal’s), Chrollo doesn’t exactly spell out that he’s going to spell someone’s Nen. Kurapika at least talks about it with its owner. Even if it does look like Chrollo’s (and it isn’t helped with the reversed cross on the chain) I think that the fact it’s more borrowing than stealing can be an interesting contrast (and it’s kinda dull to complain about it now since there had been tons of contrast building up between Chrollo and Kurapika, already into the YN arc.)

-It’s also not confirmed if the power can remain inside the Chain for a long time. As it seems, Kurapika seems to have to keep Emperor’s Time activated as long as he doesn’t use the Nen inside the Dolphin (ie back to point 1), and then the Nen goes back to its user. The Zetsu mode is temportary, and it seems to ask for an imediate use.

-It doesn’t seem like it’s a power he will use a lot. And honestly at this point it makes a lot of those chains. Chain Jail can only be used against the Spiders so he never uses it outside of his revenge quest. Judgement Chain puts the person he does it to in a Life or Death situation which for the most part, Kurapika tries to avoid. Now I’m not sure he’ll use Steal Chain all that often. 

-also ye we were aware that with the dc arc most of Kurapika’s fighting chains, unless he runs into the troupe, will be useless, and I honestly don’t think this chain will help him all that much. Like if the Dolphin is empty when he wants to attack someone he won’t go far. Besides, we don’t know how easy it is to actually steal it, and we only saw him steal from an easily immobilized adversary (same for Judgement Chain btw). It is possible it won’t work that easily on a Real Fight.

-And Like often with Kurapika’s powers, it seems a little more to be a Morality question than an actual Power question imo. In that case how he refuses to get help from people, even of his closest friends. And frankly i’m personally more interested in how Kurapika isnt found of seeing people as pawns (there was a mistranslation in the common scans) and how Kurapika think about “and that’s why I want to fight alone” while thinking about the group, than to the actual chain tbh. Ending up isolating the power from the individual seems to be a way to distance himself from the closeness an Ally would be during a fight, from the closeness Izunavi was reproaching him of trying to avoid, allowing him therefore to fight alone. Meanwhile he also put his distances with his Real Allies, the people who are actually there for him, by putting the accent on how he would rather work alone, because “Reality isn’t that simple”.

-Oh and by the way, it also fits the canon description of Specialist, which are that they are charismatic loners who will mostly handle things by themselves. (and frankly we accepted far more OP Nen those last few arcs.)

-And finally, we have only seen it once for crying out loud. Even all I say can be utterly bullshit. So far it was shown once, in a “Look at what he can do” way, but give Togashi some credits, when did that kind of set up didn’t lead to an eventual “and that’s how it can go wrong”.

I’m personally really hoping for more in text violent consequences as well, I sure as hell didn’t expect a Nen Stealing new Chain and honestly hated the idea, but the more I think about it the more likely, with hxh’s usual writting, it will be far more interesting.

I’ve ranted for ever over how the others chains of Pika had consequences, and I still hope that it will get in that direction textually as well. 

So now at least you guys know where I stand.